Feature by Joanna Brichetto

The date on which Hanukkah falls is based on a lunar calendar, and this year it comes far earlier than usual—which means we don’t have much time to choose Hanukkah books for the children in our lives. You can’t go wrong with these selections. They either add a new twist to an old story or succeed in emphasizing timeless values with a light touch, and all are very entertaining....

Lifestyles Column by Joanna Brichetto

Among the many self-help volumes on herbal medicine, Hands-On Healing Remedies by Stephanie L. Tourles stands out as a literally well-oiled handbook for treating an alphabet’s worth of ailments from A to Z. Got insomnia? Two drops of a chamomile, sweet marjoram and lavender blend on your pillowcase might be the answer, as could a rubdown with lemon-balm-based moisturizer. Cold feet? Just...

Lifestyles Column by Joanna Brichetto

Breverton’s Complete Herbal is a new twist on a very old classic. Culpepper’s Complete Herbal, in print since 1653, has helped common folk help themselves for centuries with herbal remedies. Terry Breverton’s version is completely up-to-date. It contains “all the most interesting herbs, spices and associated herb gardens and gardeners,” which means more than 250...

Feature by Joanna Brichetto

New moms need lots of help; the postpartum period is rough. Baby gets all the attention while Mom is at the bottom of everyone’s list—especially her own—for even basic care. If regular bathing and balanced meals are ancient history, workouts and decent hair are mere myth. And since a new mom can’t think straight—she has, after all, “just built a whole new...

Feature by Joanna Brichetto

Getting married is big business in America. The wedding industry accounts for an estimated $70 billion to $125 billion chunk of our economy, most of which is spent on things destined to be used once and discarded. The dress, the invitations, the party favors, gift-wrap and alas, sometimes the gifts themselves are one-use-only commodities. The less visible aspects can be wasteful, too: consider...